CHAPTER 5. AGEING AND LEARNING
“W
hen I started researching
the brain in the late
1970s, the general dogma
was that the adult brain was fixed and
unable to change,” Professor Perry Bartlett
explains. “It was very exciting when I was
able to prove that there were actually stem
cells in the adult brain, which means that
the adult brain has the capacity to repair
itself.” The discovery clearly has significant
implications for treating people with brain
injuries and diseases.
In 1982, Prof Bartlett first predicted
the presence of stem cells in the brain. A
decade later, he proved the theory when
he found them first in the brains
of mouse embryos and then adult
mice. In 2001 he became the first person
to isolate these cells in adult mice.
His research progressed to focus on stem
cells in the hippocampus. “We know the
hippocampus is vital for the formation of
spatial navigation and remembering when
and where activities occur,” Prof Bartlett
says. “Our latest work suggests that many
different groups of stem cells are at work in
the hippocampus, regenerating new neural
connections. We now understand that the
brain is very plastic, changing all the time.”
Recently, Prof Bartlett successfully used
PROFILE
A LEARNING BREAKTHROUGH
IT USED TO BE THOUGHT THAT THE ADULT BRAIN WAS HARDWIRED:
WHAT WE HAD BY A CERTAIN AGE WAS AS GOOD AS IT GOT.
BUT QBI’S PROFESSOR PERRY BARTLETT TURNED THAT
THINKING ON ITS HEAD.
DID YOU
KNOW?
exercise to improve cognition
in older mice. He is now
leading a human clinical
trial to determine the
amount, intensity, and
type of exercise that leads
to cognitive improvement
in the brains of elderly
people (see p20). “The effect
of dementia on hundreds
of thousands of Australians is
debilitating and devastating,” he says. “If we
can show that exercise can actually slow
down or reverse the onset of dementia,
then we can potentially make a positive
difference to a lot of people’s lives.
“Our first thought back at the beginning
was, ‘Wow, now we will be able to repair
the brain’, and, while it’s still a long road,
researchers are now well on the way to
doing that. What excites me is that our
initial discoveries nearly 25 years ago are
now leading to potential treatments for
dementia, and maybe for depression too.”
Prof Bartlett was
founding director
of QBI, which he
established in 2003,
with 10 researchers.
In 2015, he became just the ninth recipient of the CSL Florey
Medal for his breakthrough discoveries in neuroscience. This
medal is one of Australia’s most prestigious scientific awards
and recognises a recipient’s significant achievements in
biomedical science and/or human health advancement.
In 2017, in recognition of his
career, Prof Bartlett was
named a Queensland Great,
and the Queensland Senior
Australian of the Year.
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PHOTOGRAPH RICHARDS BRIGGS /FAIRFAX SYNDICATION